The Cupboard under the Stairs?
by IvoryDragon432
Summary: Just a quick one shot of Professor McGonagall working on the Hogwarts letters in 1991. Probably not what actually happened in canon, but something that could have happened.


A/N: I had been trying to write something entirely different, but this is the scene that wanted to be written, so here's McGonagall working on Hogwarts Letters...

* * *

 _30 June 1991_

Minerva McGonagall sat at her desk in the deputy headmistress's office. This wasn't the office she preferred to work in, but it was where the book of magical children destined for Hogwarts was located. Since it wouldn't come to her, she was forced to go to it. It was that book, and its enchanted quill, that she was watching now. Today was the day acceptance letters would be written for the next class of Hogwarts and the book was busy magically writing out addresses on envelopes and dropping them into one of two piles. One pile, the bigger of the two, would be filled with standard letters and sent off by owl to the children of magical families all around Britain and the UK. The other pile, which currently consisted of only two envelopes, would have much more detailed letters, and would have to be hand delivered to the muggle families who were probably starting to get quite concerned about the odd things that were happening around their children.

A few short minutes later, Minerva set down her teacup with a sigh as the magical quill stopped writing. It seemed this year's class would be even smaller than the last. She wasn't truly surprised. This was a trend she'd been seeing for the past few years. All of these children had been born at the height of the wizarding war. A sad number of children had died in the attacks, or had never been born at all, their would-be parents victims of the war. There were so many people who had not lived long enough to see the defeat of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, or the capture of many of his followers. The war had been a horrible thing at the time, but back then she hadn't really understood that she would still be regularly confronted with the aftermath of those terrible times almost a decade later.

For a moment, she had been lost in the memories of those dark times. She picked up her teacup and took a sip, intent on getting back to the work at hand. From a drawer in her desk, she pulled out her master copies of the first year letters and lists and set each page out on top. A few flicks of her wand saw several neat piles of identical pages ready to be added to the envelopes. This was followed by a rather elaborate swish and flick, which had the pages collated and stuffing themselves into the proper envelopes.

Minerva was just going back to her tea when she noticed an envelope labeled for 'Mr H. Potter' float across her desk and flip open. She paused for a moment. She had, of course, often thought of Harry Potter, but she hadn't realized that this was the year he would be coming to Hogwarts. Dumbledore had insisted that no one from the school should contact him before he got his Hogwarts letter, not wanting to accidentally reveal his location to anyone who might do him harm. She hadn't seen him, or heard anything new of him, since that night he was left with his muggle relatives in Surrey. She did hope he had gotten on alright there.

As she took her next sip of tea, the letter for Harry Potter finished folding itself up and fell into the 'owl post' pile. A glance down at the letter had Minerva setting down her teacup and picking up the letter. There, in bright green ink, was a highly unusual address:

 _Mr. H. Potter  
The Cupboard under the Stairs  
4 Privet Drive  
Little Whinging  
Surrey_

"'The Cupboard under the Stairs'?" she questioned aloud, turning the letter this way and that, wondering if she was misreading something. Deciding that she most definitely was not misreading the envelope, Minerva got up from her chair and headed for the Headmaster's Office. She was sure Albus would want to see this.

* * *

The familiar call of "Come in" came from the other side of the door just as she raised her arm to knock. Minerva opened the door to see Albus Dumbledore sitting behind his desk wearing a sky blue robe that was in surprisingly good taste, unlike the lime green pointed hat with the tassle on top that he had chosen to pair with it. He set down his quill as she walked through the door, offering a jovial smile and reaching for the dish of lemon drops on his desk with his other hand.

"Ah, Minerva, what brings you here this afternoon? Lemon Drop?", he asked as he held out the dish.

"No, thank you.", she replied as she walked up to his desk. "I've been working on the Hogwarts letters and I came across something odd.", she added as she placed the envelope in her hand in front of him. "What do you make of this? It can't really mean that he considers a cupboard his home, can it?"

Albus frowned at the inscription before him for a moment before giving a slight chuckle. "I believe that's unlikely. He's probably simply in the middle of some game where that cupboard represents his castle or some other such important location. Do you remember that one year that Xenophilius's letter was addressed to 'The Tallest Tower of Snorkack Keep'? I'm sure it's quite similar."

Minerva smiled at the memory before her face became serious once more. "Albus, that has very rarely happened, and you have to admit that Xenophilius was a somewhat unusual child. Wouldn't it be a better idea to check on this?"

With a small nod, Albus gave the answer she was hoping for, "Of course, Minerva. Leave the letter with me and I'll have someone hand deliver it."

As she turned to leave, she thought she heard him muse, "Perhaps Hagrid would enjoy the task."


End file.
